Whitney Houston may have been one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation but when David Roberts was asked to be her bodyguard he wasn’t exactly star-struck.
“I said ‘Whitney Houston, who’s he?’,” recalled the former police sergeant turned close protection officer.
He went on to spend six years protecting the late superstar as she toured the world and believes he was the inspiration for the 1992 film The Bodyguard, starring Houston and Kevin Costner.
“It was an eye-opener, bearing in mind I’m from a farming community on the tip of north Wales, the Llyn Peninsula.
“And here I am travelling the world right with arguably one of the most famous people in the world so it was quite an interesting experience,” said the 72-year-old, speaking from his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Twenty-five years on he has written a book about his time with the star who died aged 48 in 2012.
David joined the RAF Police in 1968 and served in Northern Ireland before joining North Wales Police in 1972.
He later transferred to the Met Police, concluding his service in 1988 as a sergeant providing protection for visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
It was while working for the American embassy in London in 1988 he first met Houston after she flew into the UK.
He recalled meeting a “most sophisticated, educated, intelligent, shy young lady”.
“I was singularly impressed,” he said.
“Her beauty was outstanding, even after the long flight from New York to London.”
Ahead of the meeting his daughter had brought him up to speed on her career and he had been out and bought some of her music.
“She had the voice of an angel, clearly,” he said.
He and Whitney “got on famously” from the get-go.
The initial job was for three months but he was later asked to be the director of security for her Far East tour.
“I can’t imagine a high-profile personality in so much demand being easier to look after,” he said.
He said she spent most of their time in her hotel room on the phone to her then boyfriend, comedian Eddie Murphy.
“He is just as funny off stage as he is on stage, a great chap, I like him,” said David.
He would later witness her tumultuous relationships with singer Bobby Brown who she married in 1992.
They remained married for 15 years.
“It’s remarkable to me it lasted as long as it did,” said David.
“In fact, the day of the wedding all the people who were involved in the security there said, ‘OK guys, we’ll be back here next year for the divorce party – we really did not think it would last and yet she proved us all wrong.”
